Williams last of candidates to interview for Rockies opening

Rockies expected to make decision this week on manager

DENVER -- On April 5, 1993, at New York's Shea Stadium, manager Don Baylor filled out the first official lineup card in Rockies history.

Baylor -- tough as nails, stoic on the field, fair with his players -- started with a blank slate. The first-time manager was charged with steering an expansion team that was expected to struggle. And struggle it did. The Rockies finished 67-95.

Nonetheless, the long-awaited arrival of big-league baseball in Colorado made 1993 a feel-good season. An astounding 4.4 million fans flocked to Mile High Stadium.

Twenty seasons later, the landscape is dramatically different. The Rockies are coming off a franchise-worst 64-98 season, and the fans' frustration and growing impatience is undeniable.

One of four men -- Tom Runnells, Jason Giambi, Walt Weiss and Matt Williams -- will be Colorado's next manager. He will be charged with maneuvering that rocky landscape.

Williams, the final candidate to sit down for a formal interview, met with owner Dick Monfort, general manager Dan O'Dowd and senior vice president of major-league operations Bill Geivett on Monday at Coors Field.

"I think it went very well," Williams said. "I felt very comfortable, and it was a great experience. Hopefully, I came across well. I think I did. We'll see where it goes from here. They asked me a lot of questions, that's for sure, but I felt I was prepared.

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Williams said much of the discussion centered on his ideas and philosophy about managing a team that must deal with playing high-altitude baseball at Coors Field, and also be able to adjust to road games.

The Rockies are expected to announce their decision this week.

Here is a look back at the five managers in Rockies history, noting what challenges they faced and how they fared:

Don Baylor

1993-98, 440-469 (.484) -- He started from scratch and quickly made big-league history. The 1993 Rockies were the first expansion team of the modern era not to lose 100 games in its first season. In 1995, armed with a lineup of big bats and a solid bullpen, Baylor took the team to the playoffs faster than any expansion team ever had. For that, he was named National League manager of the year.

Jim Leyland

1999, 72-90 (.444) -- Having produced playoff teams in Pittsburgh and winning a World Series with the Florida Marlins 1997, Leyland arrived in Denver with a terrific pedigree and a three-year-deal worth more than $6 million. Baylor's 1998 team had gone just 77-85, but still had plenty of firepower left over for Leyland. But his one season in Colorado was an unmitigated disaster. The team's ERA was a franchise-worst 6.01, leading Leyland to lament about the horrors of Coors Field. He walked away from the final two years of his contract, leaving more than $4 million on the table.

Buddy Bell

2000-02, 161-185 (.465) -- Left to clean up Leyland's mess, Bell led the Rockies to an 82-80 record in 2000 when the club hit .294 and smacked 223 home runs. Thinking an National League West title was within their grasp, O'Dowd went for broke in the winter of 2000, signing big-name free-agent pitchers Mike Hampton and Denny Neagle for a combined $175.3 million. When they went bust, and when the Rockies went 73-89 in 2000, Bell was in trouble. As the Rockies started to dismantle and rebuild, Bell's relationship with O'Dowd grew frosty. By the time Bell was fired 22 games into the 2002 season, he and O'Dowd were no longer on speaking terms.

Clint Hurdle

2002-09, 534-625 (.461) -- Big, boisterous and energetic, Hurdle filled a clubhouse and a dugout. Good with young players and a good teacher, he was seen as a perfect replacement for Bell when he took over early in the 2002 season. With a strong relationship with O'Dowd and Keli McGregor (the late team president), Hurdle became a Rockies fixture. Thanks to the magic of Rocktober, Hurdle led a largely home-grown team to the World Series in 2007. But the Rockies slumped badly in 2008 and early in 2009. When he was fired, the Rockies were 18-28 and there was a feeling among a number of players that Hurdle had lost the clubhouse.

Jim Tracy

2009-2012, 294-308 (.488) -- Tracy picked Hurdle's Rockies up off the mat and led them to a NL wild-card berth in the 2009 playoffs. The future looked bright indeed. A manager who loved the late-inning chess game of pitching matchups, Tracy had the Rockies in the running again in 2010 until the club collapsed down the stretch. The 2011 season was a disaster. The historically bad 2012 season featured horrific starting pitching, and with the front office playing a larger role in the daily workings of the club, Tracy resigned with one year left on his contract, leaving $1.4 million on the table.

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